By Plenary Sessions: Madis Kallas
Total Sessions: 51
Fully Profiled: 51
2025-10-15
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Information Hour
The focus is at the national level, addressing the issues of the minimum wage for cultural workers with higher education and the structure of ministries. There is no reference to specific local governments or regional projects, except for a reference to debates preceding local government elections.
2025-10-08
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
Insufficient data.
2025-10-08
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Information Hour
The regional focus is strong, emphasizing the inequality of service availability across Estonia. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that the current situation means "the scales are tipped against rural areas."
2025-10-07
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
The strong regional focus is aimed at reducing inequality and supporting areas facing population decline and aging. Emphasis is placed on the critical role of financing local governments in implementing regional policy, alongside the redistribution of resources from more affluent regions.
2025-10-06
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
A strong regional focus, emphasizing the accessibility and quality of education in rural areas. Specific examples highlighted include the exam results in Valga County and the successful prevention of a crisis within the Saaremaa gymnasium network (Orissaare and Kuressaare Adult Gymnasium). Furthermore, there is an emphasis on clearly defining the roles of local governments and the state.
2025-09-24
Fifteenth Riigikogu, sixth sitting, plenary sitting.
The focus is strongly regional, encompassing the regional sector more broadly as well as specifically regional air traffic. Concern over rising ticket prices highlights the importance of regional connectivity and accessibility.
2025-09-23
15th Riigikogu, 6th session, plenary session
The focus is at the national level ("from Estonia's own practice") and at the international level (European Union guidelines). There is no reference to a specific local or regional focus.
2025-09-16
Fifteenth Riigikogu, sixth sitting, plenary sitting.
The regional focus is dominant, emphasizing that regional policy is about people's daily lives, not statistics. The objective is to ensure access to services and rights across every part of Estonia, preventing the feeling that people in remote areas are left alone to deal with their problems. The speaker supports discussing regional disparities as a topic free of taboo.
2025-09-15
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary sitting
The focus is strongly regional, emphasizing educational inequality both in the context of the rural-urban divide and internally within counties and local municipalities. Separately highlighted are the salary coefficient for teachers in Ida-Virumaa, the challenges posed by sparse settlement regarding school transport and extracurricular education, and the situation of gymnasium education in Saaremaa (Orissaare Gymnasium).
2025-09-11
15th Riigikogu, 6th plenary sitting
The focus is clearly national, zeroing in on the issue of consumer loans, which affects tens of thousands of people across Estonia. Specific local regions are not being emphasized.
2025-09-09
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session.
The focus is strictly on national topics, centering on the Ministry of Defence’s budget, national defense, and parliamentary oversight mechanisms.
2025-09-08
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
A very strong regional focus, emphasizing the cost of living and the economic situation in Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Attention is centered on the direct impact of transport policy on the islands' loan market and the welfare of residents, criticizing regional policy evaluators who are unfamiliar with rural life.
2025-09-04
15th Riigikogu, extraordinary session of the Riigikogu
A strong regional focus on internal inequalities within Estonia, particularly concerning the accessibility of education in sparsely populated areas and regions further away from major population centers. The necessity of ensuring the viability of small rural schools and regional colleges is emphasized. Specific examples are highlighted in the context of wage disparities between Harju County and Ida-Viru County.
2025-06-18
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
The regional focus is aimed at mitigating inequality in education, highlighting the disparities between schools in Tallinn and those in more remote or smaller areas regarding teacher recruitment and the proportion of qualified staff. Concern is expressed that smaller schools may be at greater risk due to a higher percentage of unqualified teachers.
2025-06-11
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
The regional focus is exceptionally strong, highlighting the stark regional disparities that have emerged, favoring Harju County and Tallinn (131,000 people have relocated). There is a demand that national decisions (such as kindergarten fees, supplementary budgets, and the placement of courts) must consider all 78 local municipalities and regional aspects.
2025-06-10
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting.
Insufficient data. The topics covered relate to national regulations and procedural law.
2025-06-04
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Insufficient data
2025-06-04
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing
The focus is clearly national, concentrating on the general well-being and the ability of the Estonian people to cope. The Prime Minister's travel within Estonia is mentioned, but there is no specific regional emphasis or highlighting of local issues.
2025-06-03
Fifteenth Riigikogu, fifth session, plenary session
The focus is strongly regional, emphasizing the importance of the South Estonia region and the Tartu air route. The speaker advocates for the separate consideration of regional airports (Pärnu, Tartu, Kuressaare, Kärdla) because of their vital role in fulfilling regional functions.
2025-06-02
15th Riigikogu, Fifth Session, Plenary Session
There is a strong regional focus on Saaremaa, centering on the potential closure of Orissaare Gymnasium and the capacity shortfall at the state gymnasium. Furthermore, interest is being expressed in the activities of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, as well as the financing of public transport.
2025-05-19
15th Riigikogu, Fifth Session, Plenary Session.
The focus is on the level of national environmental management and the analysis of international practices, seeking examples from Europe, particularly the successful renewable energy development models of Finland and Lithuania.
2025-05-12
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting.
The focus is on national public security issues and youth behavior trends, with no references to specific regions or local projects.
2025-05-05
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
There is a very strong focus on regional and local issues, particularly the peripheralization and depopulation of areas in Central Estonia (Vana-Vigala) and on the islands (ferry tickets, permanent resident discounts). It is emphasized that rural areas need year-round vitality to maintain local services and overall sustainability. The negative consequences of the concentration of population in Harju County are also highlighted (traffic jams, long queues).
2025-04-23
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing
The regional focus is clearly highlighted, emphasizing that the problem particularly affects students who have to move from rural areas and smaller counties either to Tallinn or Tartu, which exacerbates their difficulties in making ends meet.
2025-04-22
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
The emphasis is national, but with a strong regional dimension, highlighting the role of culture and sport in sustaining life, particularly in more remote areas. It is noted that singing choirs and community museums remain even after businesses and institutions disappear. The goal is to improve the accessibility of recreational physical activity nationwide ("all over Estonia").
2025-04-16
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing
The regional focus is clearly aimed at residents of areas further away from universities, highlighting their challenging circumstances due to the lack of transport connections and housing in university towns. This underscores the concern regarding regional inequality in access to education.
2025-03-26
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Not enough data.
2025-02-25
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
The focus is on changing the franchise (voting rights) for local government elections (city and rural municipality councils) in Estonia. This local issue, however, is closely tied to international security and the citizenship of aggressor states (Russia and Belarus).
2025-02-20
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, plenary session.
The speaker primarily focuses on national and international topics, but highlights regional inequality regarding the accessibility of extracurricular education. They emphasize that the disparities in access to these activities generally disadvantage children in rural areas, demanding solutions for all children.
2025-02-19
15th Estonian Parliament, 5th session, plenary sitting
The regional focus is distinctly international, targeting neighboring countries, particularly Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, and Sweden. Emphasis is placed on the need to understand Estonia's position within the Baltic and Nordic context concerning critical infrastructure protection.
2024-12-18
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary sitting
A strong regional focus is directed towards Ida-Virumaa, highlighting the decades-long contribution and environmental suffering endured by its residents for the sake of supplying electricity to all of Estonia. The text also emphasizes the need to bring public meetings in large municipal areas closer to the development regions, which points to concerns at the local level.
2024-12-16
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
The speaker explicitly emphasizes the regional policy benefits brought about by remote servicing, calling it "highly welcome." The focus is on improving the accessibility of services across Estonia, citing as an example a transaction that involves South Estonia, Tallinn, and Saaremaa.
2024-12-11
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
The regional focus is extremely strong, emphasizing the need to reduce the regional gap and move state administration out of Tallinn. Separately, the daily challenges faced by rural areas are highlighted (service availability from September to May), along with the necessity of ensuring the state's presence throughout Estonia. The rapid growth of municipalities near Tallinn and Tartu (Saue, Rae, Viimsi, Kambja) is noted, as is the importance of rural areas for the functioning of urban centers.
2024-12-04
15th Estonian Parliament, 4th session, plenary sitting
Not enough data
2024-11-19
15th Riigikogu, 4th sitting, plenary session.
The regional focus is very strong, emphasizing MaRu's role as a regional policy instrument. The objective is to support 79 local municipalities, which possess varying levels of capacity in the planning sector, and to maximize the value of land resources in every region of Estonia. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of making smart decisions to prevent urban sprawl and ensure a more balanced distribution of the Estonian population across the entire territory.
2024-11-12
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
The regional focus is clearly directed toward supporting local governments, particularly in smaller regions that lack the capacity to hire specialists such as architects or urban planners. The establishment of MaRu is viewed as a way to fill this void at the local level.
2024-11-11
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
The regional focus is extremely strong, centering entirely on the autonomy of local governments (KOV) and the expectations of their leaders. It is stressed that the power to decide on land tax must be delegated to the local level, rather than being regulated nationally.
2024-11-04
15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary sitting
The focus is on national sports governance ("Foundational Document for Estonian State Sports Governance") and international standards of sports ethics. Reference is made to the necessity of responding to incidents both in Estonia and elsewhere in the world. There is no regional or local emphasis.
2024-10-23
15th Riigikogu, 4th sitting, plenary session
The focus is on the national level (suffrage, local government elections) and the international level, addressing anti-Russian regime activities and cross-border movement. There are no specific local or regional projects.
2024-10-17
15th Riigikogu, 4th sitting, plenary sitting
Data is scarce. The focus is on national legal and legislative issues, not specific regional topics.
2024-09-25
15th Riigikogu, 4th sitting, plenary session
A strong regional focus, emphasizing the necessity of relocating state jobs out of Tallinn and Harju County and into more distant regions. The objective is to mitigate regional inequality and stimulate the economy in areas that lack the housing and labor market characteristic of Harju County.
2024-07-29
The 15th Riigikogu, extraordinary session of the Riigikogu.
The focus is strongly regional, centering on the impact that population movement and tax revenue shifting towards the Tallinn and Tartu areas have on rural regions. The goal is to alleviate the "autumn-to-spring problem" and ensure the sustained viability of rural areas (villages and small towns/boroughs). He/She emphasizes that most members of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) came here from Estonia's rural areas.
2024-06-14
15th Riigikogu, 3rd sitting, additional plenary session
The regional focus is nationwide, emphasizing the need to create a better living environment in both rural and urban areas. Separate emphasis is placed on the expectations and need of local governments for MaRu to become a strong partner to the 79 cities and municipalities. This is crucial because many local governments are unable to hire all the necessary sector-specific experts (e.g., architects, planners).
2024-06-12
15th Estonian Parliament, 3rd session, plenary session.
The regional focus is very strong, concentrating on all 79 Estonian local governments and their capacity to make decisions that are significantly closer to the people. Special emphasis is also placed on the interests of local citizens, entrepreneurs, farmers, and foresters, whose needs local governments address when making their decisions.
2024-06-05
15th Riigikogu, 3rd session, plenary sitting
The regional focus is indirect, centering on the necessity of obtaining more precise data regarding various regions and analyzing the draft legislation's impact on the funding model for local governments. Emphasis is placed on how various mechanisms affect local governments.
2024-06-04
15th Riigikogu, third session, plenary sitting
A strong regional focus is directed toward local authorities and their role in crisis management. The speaker emphasizes that this topic is crucial from both a local and a national perspective, necessitating stronger involvement at the local level.
2024-05-30
15th Riigikogu, 3rd sitting, plenary sitting
The focus is international, covering the Nordic and Baltic context through the Nordic Investment Bank. At the same time, strong emphasis is placed on monitoring aspects of domestic regional inequality when making investments.
2024-05-29
15th Riigikogu, 3rd session, plenary session
The focus is heavily regional, stressing that local councils are closest to the people and should make their own decisions. The speaker lists several regions (e.g., Võrumaa, Mulgimaa, Viljandimaa, Saaremaa, Ida-Virumaa) to highlight the need for flexibility that isn't dictated by Toompea. He/She emphasizes that the law aims to address regional inequality.
2024-05-16
Fifteenth Riigikogu, Third Session, Plenary Session
The regional focus is strong, emphasizing the need to support entrepreneurship from a regional perspective and to analyze the best practices of other regions (both neighboring and distant). This topic was important for the speaker to highlight in the work of the Economic Committee.
2024-05-15
15th Riigikogu, 3rd session, plenary session
The regional focus is clearly directed at the Saaremaa municipality, where the Sõmera special care institution was located. Although the topic is national (the reorganization of special care institutions), a specific local example is being highlighted.
2024-05-08
15th Riigikogu, 3rd session, plenary session.
Extremely strong regional focus, criticizing the unequal distribution of European Union funding, given that Harju County has received over 70% of the resources. It opposes consolidation that leads to job closures in more distant regions and emphasizes the need to ensure the state’s presence in every county. It draws attention to the significant salary disparities within local governments between Tallinn/Harju County and the more distant regions.